Little Man Knows Best
by Eloquent Doll
Summary: Tina and Mike always seemed like the perfect pair. If that's true, then why is Tina stuck in New York raising their child all alone? And where does her son's teacher fit into everything?


Tina searched through her blankets to find the annoying tone on her phone off, cursing the morning sun spilling in through her blinds. Even though she'd had this routine for longer than she liked, the Asian was still very tempted to lay in bed all day with the little man by her side. With all the extra work she'd been putting in to make sure Jason got everything he needed and so that the two could live comfortably off one income, Tina had to put in more hours than most others in the art gallery where she worked. The blankets pooled around her waist when she sat up and turned to gently shake the 7 year old tangled up in his dreams. A giggle escaped her lips as she watched the boy who looked so much like her scrunched his nose and tried to burrow away from her and the offending sun. "Jason baby, time to get up. Mama needs to get to work and you have school." When he didn't budge Tina started poking at his sides making the small boy jerk and laugh while trying to swat at her hands. "No no no. If I have to get up and go deal with cranky people all day you have to get up and go to school. Who would be the teacher's pet if you missed a day?"

Her full lips pulled into a smirk as the young boy hopped up from the bed almost immediately and ran for the bathroom. Tina had no clue where he got the whole teacher's pet thing from. Both her and his father were more interested in other things moreso than any classes. As her mind passed over her past relationship, she sighed and plopped back against her pillows defeated. In all honesty, Tina was happy for Mike. He'd found the one he was meant to be with and she wasn't going to fault him for falling in love. In fact she was glad that he'd come right out and told her that he'd fallen in love with someone else even though they had a baby together. There was always a nagging thought in the back of her mind when they were together that there was something missing and as it turned out, it was love. Sure Mike was hot and a great father but love was the one thing Tina held above all else. If he really found that elusive love with the pretty blonde in his economics class then who was she to hold him back?

After a few years of living in small town Lima, pretending like she was happy as the young single mom living off the help of everyone around, Tina picked up everything including their son and left for New York. For some reason growing up, she always knew that New York held something for her that nowhere else did. It was something small and tugging on her heart. So when she finally got enough money and Jason was old enough, Tina moved them to a small apartment in New York City. The two had been there for a few years now. Tina was freshly 23 and working at a local art gallery as one of the talent liaisons. Jason was now 7 and loving the second grade. She'd been wholly surprised when her son ran in after his first day this year, raving about his new teacher and how he wanted to be in second grade forever. In her mind, the small girl made a note to meet with this teacher of his and congratulate him on being the only guy that Jason seemed to even talk to. When he was old enough to understand the whole living situation, Jason tended to resent all men for his dad falling in love. The poor boy didn't understand how anyone would want to fall in love with anyone other than his perfect mama.

Tina shot up in the bed as there was a loud crash from the bathroom and she nearly tripped over herself trying to get to the door and make sure Jason was okay. "Jason?" Her voice came out a bit louder and more strained than she'd intended but what else did you expect from a young girl whose whole world was behind the door? Her heart was either racing or at a complete standstill in her chest but it was almost impossible to tell the difference so instead she raised her fist to knock insistently on the wooden door. Mid knock it swung open to reveal her son with the largest smile on his face and a small mess on the floor behind him. Tina could only laugh once she realized what he'd done. Jason had apparently decided to get himself ready that morning, which included knocking everything off the top shelf in the pursuit of the gel he used to pull his hair into a messy attempt at a Mohawk. "Look mama! I know how to do it myself now! Mr. A told us that grown-ups know how to take care of themselves. So if I do everything I can stay up late, right?" His little features lit up hopefully and Tina crouched down in front of him with a quirked eyebrow.

"Listen here little man, quit trying to grow up so fast. It's fun being young! Besides, when you're old you have to get a job and take orders from even older people!" Jason pulled a face before running around Tina to hop onto their large bed. "I'm gonna work for me! And everyone can do what they want." He continued rambling excitedly as she moved into the bathroom to get dressed and ready herself for the long day ahead of her. Having Jason at 16 was a complete surprise and everyone in their small town tended to look at Tina as if her life were just decided for her right then and there. Too bad this girl would never be held down by a simple convention of being a teen mom. Luckily Jason turned out to be really well behaved and smart, pretty much all of the good traits that she and Mike shared between them. Once ready for her day, she walked out and held out a hand for her son. "Come on, you. Another day to take on the world. You ready?"


End file.
